The Miami Marlins have suspended manager Ozzie Guillen for five games for professing his love of Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, in an article that appeared in Time magazine. The Marlins’ move came in response to Miami’s very vocal Cuban exile population’s immediate negative reaction to Guillen’s comments. The suspension shouldn’t have come as a surprise: It’s an attempt by Marlins’ owner, Jeffrey Loria, to manage the perception of his franchise.

After all, perception is something Loria knows a thing or two about. The 71 year-old Loria is an art dealer, a profession he dove into at the tender age of 24. He has owned works by Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. He wrote a book, Collecting Original Art. Loria knows, as well as anyone, that the price of a piece of art is based on the perception of the work and its creator.

Loria seems to see little difference in his job as an art dealer and his other job as a baseball owner. He recently told MLB.com columnist, Hal Bodley:

"Art and baseball all fit together. Art has to go with other good art, the players have to fit together to go with each other. There's really no distinction between the two. It's all about quality."

But creating the proper perception has been difficult for Loria in the baseball world. He originally got into the majors with his purchase of the Montreal Expos in 1999, for which he paid just $30 million. When he couldn’t secure a new stadium in the city (which would have been funded mostly by taxpayers), the Expos withered. In 2002, in a deal that was roundly vilified, he effectively sold the Expos to Major League Baseball for $120 million, then got a $39 million interest-free loan and bought what was then known as the Florida Marlins. He has won a World Series (in 2003), but immediately disassembled the championship team, which did not endear him to the fans. He claimed the franchise didn’t have the money to sustain the teams, primarily because it didn’t have a new stadium.

This year was supposed to have been the year that the perception of his team changed. Loria the art dealer went about collecting what he thought would be his baseball masterpieces. In 2012, the newly-christened Miami Marlins opened a new $515 million, 37,000-seat park in the city, complete with a retractable roof, a 70-foot home run sculpture, palm trees and aquariums. Loria complemented the new name and stadium with the biggest signal that things had changed for the franchise: This offseason, he spent money on players, instead of giving them away. He signed star shortstop, Jose Reyes, and pitchers, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell, for contracts totaling almost a combined $200 million.

The cherry on top was his signing of manager, Ozzie Guillen. Guillen came with some baggage; he was known for being outspoken and was nicknamed “Hurricane Ozzie.” He once told a reporter, “I’m the Charlie Sheen of baseball, minus the drugs and prostitutes.” Guillen came at a steep price as well: $10 million over four years, and the handing over of two prospects to the manager’s former team, the Chicago White Sox.

Loria surely knew he was getting a wildcard. But he probably didn’t think things would go awry so quickly, only a few games into the 2012 season.

A five-game suspension may seem like a lot. Guillen seemed contrite and later amended his remarks about Castro, indicating that he merely admired the Cuban dictator’s ability to survive for so long. But Miami is the capital of Cuban exiles who despise Castro, with good reason. These exiles were making noises about boycotting games. The perception of Loria’s team was in deep peril. So he acted to try to restore it, hoping the market for his new art pieces stays strong.